A water flow meter is a device that you can measure the amount of water moving through a pipe. There are many different water flow meter types that you can choose from. Some factors that will determine which water flow meter to use are:
- The type of application
- The maintenance requirements
- Your budget, for instance, which water flow meter can you afford?
Every water flow meter type always has a unique operational principle, general ownership cost, and particular benefits on the applications where you use it. Many people have been having a challenge with using water flow meters. It is why we came up with this article to help you know how to use the water flow meter.
Here, you will learn about the significant water flow meter types and how to use every one of them. Therefore, stay here and obtain perfect knowledge to employ it on your specific type of application. Let us see the kinds of water flow meters that we have.
Water flow meter types
There are four significant types of water flow meters. You can easily choose the best meter for your application among the four. The factors we listed above will determine which water flow meter type to use in the specific application. Here are the major types and how to use each one of them:
Mechanical flowmeters
Mechanical flow meters are the most popular and cheaper water flow meter types. When using an automatic flow meter, you will be required to monitor the flow by examining the rotation of the turbine using a propeller, a paddlewheel design, or even a shunt.
A mechanical flow meter operates by measuring the speed of the moving water through a pipe that makes the turbine or piston rotate. You can determine the flow rate of the volume of water that is always proportional to the blade’s rotational speed.
The main disadvantage of this water flow meter type is that it may cause clogging when the water has large particles or contains dirt. It may, in turn, lead to high maintenance costs. Also, you cannot effectively measure low water flow using these meters.
Ultrasonic flowmeters
They are water flow meter types that measure the fluids’ speed moving through the pipe. They do this by using ultrasound to estimate the flow rate volume. When using a transit time ultrasonic liquid flow meter, there will be ultrasonic signal transmission in the downstream direction of the fluid flow.
Also, the transmission of another signal will take place against the fluid flow upstream direction. You will then compare the traveling time of the sonic pulse in both the upstream and downstream directions. You can, in turn, use the differential time to calculate the velocity of the fluid. The speed helps in the calculation of the flow rate volume.
Vortex flowmeters
A vortex flowmeter operates under the vortices shed from an immersed sensor in the flow. Vortices are usually natural forces from a fluid moving past an obstruction. For instance, the water flowing within the rock in a stream and the wind passing a flagpole.
When using a vortex flowmeter, ensure that the sensor tab flexes sideways when every vortex moves past, thus producing a frequency output, which is directly proportional to the flow rate volume. There are multivariable vortex water flow meters that you can use to measure up to five variable processes with a single connection.
For instance, you may measure pressure, temperature, mass flow, density, and the volume flow rate. When having large pipes, you can use insertion vortex meters to insert into the flowing fluid.
Magnetic flowmeters
They are water flow meter types that measure the speed of the moving fluid through a pipe. Here, there is usually a magnetic field to measure the flow rate volume. They typically follow the principle of Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction.
It states that when a liquid flows in a magnetic field, it will produce a voltage. An increase in the speed of water movement will increase the rate at which voltage is generated. The voltage is directly proportional to the water movement. You will now calculate the voltage signal into flow rate volume through electronics.
Wrapping up
There are various water flow meter types available in the market. Each flow meter is effective on a specific type of application. You can use the water flow meter to measure the amount of water moving through a pipe. Your kind of application will determine which water flow meter to use.